Dubuque County holds two of Iowa's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, Dubuque County holds two of Iowa's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, including the Mathias Ham House Historic Site at #1. The index ranks 80 Iowa sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Mathias Ham House Historic Site ranks #1. The lead miner and steamboat operator Mathias Ham built the Italianate mansion above the Mississippi in 1857; after his death in 1889, his daughter Sarah reportedly shot an intruder in the house one night. Four separate published accounts describe activity there. Staff and visitors have reported cold spots, displaced objects and footsteps on the staircase Sarah used. The site's staff say the tales are debunked and that people have come forward as the source of the reported screams and lights; the museum offers no ghost tours or investigator access.

The Grand Opera House ranks #10. The architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke designed the Richardsonian Romanesque theater, completed in 1890. Two separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1920. During the 1930s, cleaning staff reportedly called Dubuque police to report disembodied voices from the empty stage, and visitors to the fifth-floor attic have described being pushed by a presence some have nicknamed "Sarah."

Statewide, Villisca Axe Murder House, Iowa's most famous haunted site, ranks #9.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:The Mathias Ham House Historic Site, 2241 Lincoln Ave., Dubuque, offers guided tours on a seasonal schedule through October 31; general admission is $12 for adults.The Grand Opera House, 135 8th St., Dubuque, is a working theater with year-round performances and periodic after-hours investigations of its fifth-floor attic.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/iowa/The fact sheet, with Dubuque numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/iowa/Photo: the Mathias Ham House, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: rivermuseum.org and thegrandoperahouse.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

###